Nowadays, empowerment in the use of online educational processes is crucial. The current literature shows that new technologies can be relevant in social rehabilitation programs since they reduce mobility and allow personalized rehabilitative paths. Nevertheless, the use of new technologies requires specific and structured competences. Accordingly, the DSI project's principal objective was the definition of a basic portfolio for digital social innovation competences at a European level specifically designed for students in social educator study programs, employed/unemployed social educators, and social volunteers. All partners already developed educational programs addressed to social educators and used digital resources in their educational activity with vulnerable social groups.Accordingly, partners shared their competences in digital-based educational programs such as competences for children with behavioral disturbances, online social coaching, social telerehabilitation of vulnerable social groups, etc., in order to implement the basic portfolio for digital social innovation competences. For this purpose, they selected, analyzed, and commented on the best practices and methodologies about using digital technologies in designing, implementing, and running social innovation solutions. Social educators have been involved in all the project activities through meetings, seminars, and online discussions. A short term learning event has been organized involving educators and experts. In synthesis, the project reached the following objectives: • exchanging good practices between organizations active in social education and social innovation • increasing the competencies of social educators • defining a basic portfolio of competences for social educators and social volunteers in digital social innovation practices at a European level • creating a comprehensive (and commented) list of topics and practices essential for digital social innovation initiatives/activities • creating a network active in digital social innovation The main addressed needs were: • enhancing social inclusion improving professional competences of social educators and social volunteers in a topical sector such as digital social innovation and the use of technology for social rehabilitation practices; • educators empowerment in the use of online educational processes. Project target groups Social educators, more precisely social educator students and social educators engaged in volunteer activities or employed in social services institutions/organizations, were the DSI project's main target group. DSI also involved other target groups: - Vulnerable social groups - Social services - Educational institutions

Research on the Western Balkan (WB) conducted by the British Council, also in 2018, highlighted the lack of qualified individuals in the Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) mainly due to a mismatch between educational provision and the sector requirements. Educational programs reportedly were still based on passive pedagogical methodologies that neglected to incorporate sufficient practical knowledge, meaning that graduates had theoretical knowledge but little understanding on how to put it into practice and lacked skills and competences that were fundamental for the workplace like creative thinking, collaboration, leadership, etc. At the same time, the European Commission clearly outlined, in its 2018 Strategy for the Western Balkans, that “digital transformation …can be a crosscutting boost to transform the region”.The main idea of the project is therefore to improve the quality of the Higher Education programmes for the Creative and Cultural Industries in the Western Balkan countries to make students more satisfied with the skills they acquired, to ensure that graduates are more skilled and competitive on the labour market and therefore achieving higher employment rates. This will be achieved through a digital transformation that takes advantage of active learning methodologies and innovative digital educational tools. The project will assess the existing needs in HEI programmes for the CCS, will design, develop and/or adapt curricula, courses, learning materials and implement different learning and collaboration activities for teachers, postgraduates, and graduates. These will take different forms like workshops, intensive study programmes, master classes all in online and offline forms. The project will also create physical facilities (Creative Labs) in the WB HEIs to support those activities. The project will also create a virtual learning and collaborative platform to foster a common approach to tackle these educational approaches in the Western Balkans and

The Danube Region is a major international hydrological basin and ecological corridor in Europe. Water resources are shared across borders and go beyond national interests, which implies a regional approach to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. According to the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, these challenges are best addressed together by strengthening institutional cooperation and capacity building in education. Present ecological and aquatic bioassessment education in the Danube area/Western Balkans Region does not meet the requirements of European environmental legislation and policies. The aim of the ECOBIAS Project is to develop and improve knowledge/skills/technical resources for ecological monitoring and aquatic bioassessment (EMAB) in accordance with the national and EU policy at seven Western Balkan PC HEIs . The specific objectives of the Project are: i) to develop/modernise and implement the advanced master curricula in EMAB in line with the Bologna requirements; ii) to develop and implement Lifelong Learning courses for professionals in the environmental monitoring sector in line with EU Water Framework Directive; iii) to equip seven EMAB laboratories; iv) and to develop regional academic network and ECOBIAS-NET platform in order to organise and promote regional cooperation in EMAB. Field-based learning and flexible learning pathways will allow students to adapt curricula outcomes in accordance to specific job requirements and stakeholders needs. Development and intercalibration of ecological status assessment system at national and regional levels is long lasting process which require extensive database of regularly monitored biological and environmental attributes. Therefore, building capacities in HE in the Western Balkan Region for the area of ecological monitoring and aquatic bioassessment represents a necessary and inevitable step toward the integration of EU environmental policy in the Region.